The Sky People
by KacyRhianon
Summary: (Not an Outlander fanfic, I just needed a book to publish this) My characters include: Isabel Monroe, Noah Shepard, Lucas Dawson, Damon Dawson, and Lily Dawson.
1. Chapter 1: Estranged

I woke from what felt like five minutes, my lungs taking in air as if I woke from a nightmare. Looking around, I saw I was still in the white box he had put me in. My heart was pounding, it wasn't that I had a nightmare . . . . I was in one.

My fist flew up and punched the ceiling of the white box. "Let me out!" I screamed.

Then something unexpected happened, the box flew open. A warm breeze hit my face instantly and the sun was beating down in streaks. Trees, I was under a canopy of them. The air was moist, humid.

I was afraid to sit up, afraid someone would be pointing a gun at me the moment I did. But I'd have to do it at some point. So I let my hands slip over the edge of the box, my fingers curling and my arms pushing me up. Had it really only been five minutes? I felt as if I'd been asleep for twelve hours, stiff as bone.

Just as I thought, though, I sat up and there was a man standing before me. He was against a tree but it wasn't a gun he was holding, it was a sword.

Who used swords anymore?

I looked at him, my hands in the air.

He was tall, rugged, looked as if he hadn't shaved in a few days. Shaggy hair told me he probably didn't shower much, either. His clothes were dirty, torn, probably working clothes.

"Who are you?" I asked him, my hands still in the air, showing him I wasn't going to hurt him.

The man only looked at me with fear, confusion.

"My name is Isabel." I said and ached to stand up.

"Stay down!" he finally spoke.

I kept my distance, staying where I was. "I-"

"Shut up." He stepped forward, his sowrd still at me. With his other hand he grabbed my chin and I looked away from him. The sword was at my neck, just under my chin. "Eyes, let me see your eyes."

I looked at him, what harm could it do?

He examined me and then grabbed my upper arm. "You're coming with me."

My body was jerked up from the box and I felt like a limp noodle. I was stiff, yet jello. I didn't know why or how that happened in just five minutes of be knocked out cold.

"Who are you?" I wondered as the dirty man dragged me along with him. "What is your name?"

"Just shut up! Keep quiet, woman." he snapped at me. I thought it best to do as he said, seeming as how he had a weapon, a dumb one, and I didn't.

He was holding both of my hands behind my back, by the wrist, and pushing me forward, through thick brush that felt hard beneath my feet. Looking down I saw asphault beneath the grass and vines. Why would asphault be under a forest floor?

The rugged man finally stopped at an old house, large and overgrown with brush. It was more like a warehouse than a home.

Once inside I saw almost nothing but a few other people and small pieces of makeshift furniture. Crates and seats and an old kitchen table, the kind you can fold away to make room in the kitchen. It didn't look cozy, not even with the old chandelier in the middle of the foyer's ceiling or the widing stairs to my right.

Two boys and a girl stood up. One of the boys looked older, even much older than the one binding my hands with his long fingers. He was shorter, too, with graying hair and a longer beard. The other was a boy with dark, jet black, hair. His skin was paler, unmarked. Not like my captures black tattoos that raked up his neck like ivory. Then there was the girl, shorter than all of the men and myself. She had blonde hair that was tied up in a braid, her arms cross over her chest.

"Strange clothes." the girl said with a snarky tone.

My capture let go of my wirsts but there was rope scraping against them in an instant. "I found her in the brush. She was in a big white box, nothing I ever saw before." he said, his voice low and serious.

The pale boy stepped forward and looked at me. "She's not Estranged, that much I know. What are we to do wih her, Noah?"

So, that was my capture's name, it was nice considering his rude tendancies.

"I don't know, Damon." said Noah, stepping in front of me now, rather than keeping back. The older man, though, kept his distance, unsure of me.

"Why did you want to see my eyes?" I asked.

They all looked at me like I was foreign, speaking a language they didn't understand. "She speaks English." said Damon, snarky like the girl.

Noah ignored my question.

"I was kidnapped some time ago, knocked out and put into that box. I don't even know where I am let alone what you mean by wanting to look at my eyes-"

"Silent!" Noah said, snapping at me again. "I will answer questions when I have decided what we're doing with you." Ah, he was the leader. I would have pegged the old guy as the leader, not Noah.

But, my mind was stupid. "I will not be _silent_." I said, mocking his voice. "Answer me."

Noah looked at me intently and turned away. "Put her in a room, boarded up. Lily, watch the door. Damon, Lucas, come with me."

I was a prisoner then. Lily brought me up the stairs and Noah disappeared with the two men I had barely met. They were probably deciding how to kill me or whether or not to let me go back home.

"You really are wearing some odd clothes." Lily said, herself dressed in a tight black outfit I would have seen in a spy movie.

I looked down at myself. I was wearing jeans, a t-shirt, and converse. To me, that was normal. "How come you wear that but Noah is wearing rags?" I wondered to Lily as she opened up a door to a plain room that held a mattress and a dresser.

"Disguise, duh. Get in, Noah will kill me if I don't do as he told me." Lily shoved my arm and shut the door.

Then, I didn't know what to do. I heard a piece of wood slid against the door as if I was in the dark ages. The window was nailed shut with bars on the outside of it, keeping from being able to do anything to escape. What was with these people? First I'm kidnapped . . . then kidnapped again? These people were even worse, living in the middle of what looked like nowhere, and overgrown and abandoned town.

I sat on the mattress. There wasn't much I could do, my hands were tied behind my back. I just wanted to go home, after all I had been through not hours ago I deserved that much.

It took hours – though – me sitting on the uncomfortable mattress. The board slid across the front of the door and in opened automatically. Damon was standing with a knife in his hand.

He bent and cut the rope, as I hoped that's why he was there with a sharp object. I gave him a slight smile and he did the same. Damon, I liked. He was friendly, even if he seemd kind of smug about it all.

"Noah doesn't like you talking back to him like that. Took me a while to get him just to think about letting you stay." Damon said.

"Thank you." I said back, Damon expected that much from my mouth.

Damon's eyes glowed, they were green like emeralds, like Noah's. They must be related. "Don't do it again. He's just a likely to slap you as kick you out onto the streets. Trust me . . . you don't want either of those."

I looked at him like a lost puppy, not knowing what he meant and knowing what he meant all at once. "Why wouldn't I want to be out there?"

It was then that Damon sat next to me. "You know, the box Noah found you in was covered in vines. It was dirty and old looking. Are you sure you weren't locked in there for days? Maybe longer?"

How would that be possible?

"I mean, it wasn't like it was dropped there. You show up wearing these old age clothes in the middle of a forest, an overgrown neighborhood."

What? "What?"

Damon sighed. "We're going to bring the box back here and exmine it."

"What do you mean old age clothes?"

He seemed surprised that's what I was worried about. "Don't get me wrong, love the vintage look, but you're in brand new clothes that are supposed to be about three centuries old. No one wears this stuff and when they do it looks like what Noah was wearing earlier."

Three centuries?

"I got these last year . . ." my voice trailed.

"The only clothes like this we have are all torn and old and stained. You're either a really good collector or Estranged." Damon pinched the fabric of my white shirt and snapped at it, letting it snap back to my skin.

We were silent for a minute as I thought. "What year is it?"

"Twenty-three fifteen."

It sounded like a military time to me rather than the year. "No, I got these clothes last year. Last year was Twenty-twelve."

Damon's eyes widened. "What?"

"Please tell me you're joking, Damon. It can't be Twenty-three fifteen. It just doesn't make any sense. I was out for five minutes, just five minutes!"

"Calm down! Breathe." Damon put his hands on my shoulders and pressed down.

My heart raced. It couldn't have been three centuries. It was only five minutes. This was a bad dream, a horrible one. My mind was tricking me. If I pinched myself I'd wake up.

I did just that and pinched myself. "Ow."

"What?"

"Nothing. This is real." My tone was stone cold.

My family. My friends. School. Teachers. Pets. Neighbors. Everyone. They were all gone. All that could be left were ancestors, if even that. There may be nothing. How was I here, though? Why wasn't I dead?

Maybe I was dead. Maybe this was all just part of my processing, part of getting to heaven. It was a test of some sorts. Had to be.

"Isabel, look at me." Damon said.

His voice was smooth, soothing. "Yes?"

"You need to get some rest."

"No. I need to be up. Resting will make me dwell to much. I need to do something. I need to know what exactly is going on with me. I should be dead." My voice was going on without me, my mind taking it over completely.

There was a shadow at the door and Damon and I both looked up. Noah was standing. He hadn't shaved, but he was wearing better clothes. Black, just like Damon's and Lily's. He looked muscular, lean, in his clothes and much less like a member of Survivor.

His eyes were stone cold, like my voice, and green. They didn't glow, they darkened. "You will rest. Damon, take her to my room. She will sleep more comfortably in there."

Damon nodded to his likely brother and helped me up. For a moment Noah blocked the door, looking at me and being hesitant to let me out of the boarded room.

"I wont go anywhere." I said with despair. "I have nowhere to go, anyway." Noah moved then and I followed Damon down a long hallway that didn't seem to end for me or my mind.


	2. Chapter 2: The Used

Again, I woke up. The mattress was the same as when I slept in it. Cold, not the best, but comfortable enough for me to sleep.

The room was still plain, like the other one. Only this room had a photo that I didn't dare to examine. I was afraid of my own thoughts, memories of the past. If I looked at someone else's I might get lost in my own.

To my left was a chair and I jumped. Noah was sitting in it. There was a glass in his hand, it had to be some kind of alcohol. I noticed he had also shaved. He looked much younger now.

Out the window I could barely tell what time of day it was. I assumed it was early, five or six AM.

"Good morning." Noah said and tipped his glass back, downing the whole drink. It was then I could smell it, it burned my nose.

"Morning." I said, merely stating that it was the morning, not that it was at all good.

"I trust you slept well," he said.

I nodded. It was the best I could sleep considering.

Noah nodded back. "Good."

Sitting up, I let my feet swing to the floor. My shoes were still on, as were my "old" clothes. "Where did you sleep?" I wondered. It was his room after all.

One of his fingers extended out. "There." Noah pointed to the side I didn't sleep on.`

"Oh."

"It was quite odd for me, too."

Odd? Everything was odd to them.

"Are you going to tell me what all happened in the last three hundred years?" I asked, not sure I really wanted to know the answer.

Noah looked at me intently, in that way that he did. His eyes were still dark, never glowing like Damon's. I figured he was too proud to have any amount of happiness in his body. He was a leader and nothing else.

"Rapture. Not in the biblical sense, though."

My brow furrowed. "So you know what a bible is?" Three hundred years and people still believed in God, I didn't know why it surprised me. "What do you mean by 'rapture' if not in the biblical sense?"

He sat his glass on the arm of his chair and peaned forward. "We were invaded by the Sky People. They look like us, breathe like us, eat, drink, sleep like us. We can tell who is who by the color of their eyes, black. The iris, completely blackened out. They coexist with some humans, not all, not us. That's why I told you to keep quiet out there, sometimes they get angry when we cross some arbitrary line."

Sky People . . . aliens? "So, Earth was invaded by aliens . . ." My voice trailed off and then, not being able to help it, I laughed.

Noah looked at me like I was crazy.

"I'm sorry." I stopped, still smiling. "It's just . . . I never thought I'd be caught in the middle of a Stephen King novel."

"You know Stephen King?" Noah asked me, one eyebrow cocked up at me.

"Yes."

He sighed then, running and hand through his shaggy hair. "It's not a joke, Isabel. The Sky People, they're dangerous. They kill us as they please, we don't live in a section of land where they coexist with us. We're lucky to be alive, if anything. The only truce right now is if we don't cross their land they wont cross ours."

My body froze and I stopped joking. Noah was too serious about it all for me to joke. It was all real. I was stuck in a time I didn't belong in and for some reason I was still alive thanks to this . . . man, if I could even call him that. I felt like his prisoner, not his guest.

"Don't look at me like that." Noah said and stood.

I did the same, mocking him. "I know I'm not exactly supposed to talk back to you, but honestly, it is so annoying the way you talk to me. Like I'm a child."

"This may come as a shock to you, Isabel, but you are, in fact, a child. Can't be more than eighteen, maybe nineteen." Noah guessed, looking over me like a hungry tiger, like I was food.

"Eighteen. And where I'm from that's legally an adult, _Sir_." I sneered, my arms over my chest.

"Well, I'm twenty-three. That's older than you."

We were close now, only inches away from each other. But we were filled with rage, nothing about him was making me want to kiss him. All I wanted to do was slap him.

I held back, though. "How does that make you more mature? It's two digits describing your age."

One of his hands raised, fully open hand. For a moment I thought he was going to hit me, I was sure of it. But then his hand balled up into a fist and he pointed his index finger at me. "Do not disobey or disrespect me, girl. I could just as easily toss you to the Sky People."

I held my arms out freely. "Go ahead."

Noah stood still, shocked my retort.

"Do it." I challenged.

Still, nothing.

"I dare you." I said through clenched teeth.

He stepped back, looking at me. He was thinking, contemplating my words. "There are clean clothes in the bathroom. Wash up and meet us downstairs."

Noah left me in the room and I stomped off to the bathroom, or what was left of it. There was a pile of clothes for me, black. There was even a pair of boots, combat. I liked them, but it was nothing I would have picked out for myself.

The shower worked, even though the warm water was running low. I hurried, as not to make them mad by using all the warm water. When I was done I dressed myself. It was difficult, given the tightness of the black jeans and shirt. It all must have all been from Lily because I felt like I was wearing clothes unfit for me.

After I finished I found a brush and raked it through my hair, the knots untangled as easily as they could, but it was impossible to get them all untangled.

I found my way downstairs soon enough, nervous by what would be happening. Lucas, Damon, Lily, and Noah were all sitting in the foyer. Wooden crates creaked as they stood up.

"Hello, I'm Lucas." the older man said, holidng out his hand for me.

"Isabel." I smiled slightly, not sure if I should.

Looking around I saw that everyone was well armed. They each had a knife in their boot and belts with some smaller, some larger weapons. It was full-on war for them, no matter what.

Damon was eyeing me warily. "You know the rest of us." he said, his voice cooler than before.

Noah was standing, stoic like a statue.

I nodded and everyone sat down except for Noah.

"Lily has made a sure point that you will be of use to us, for several reasons." Noah said, he was staring down at me. He had at least five inches on me.

"How?"

"Our numbers. There aren't many human beings left who still want to fight back. You will need to be trained, though, if you don't know how to use these weapons." Noah pointed to the knives on his belt.

Funny, my father was an ex-marine. "My father taught me how to fight. I'm better with a gun, but I know knives, too."

Lily stood again. "A gun?"

I nodded. Did she not know what a gun was?

Lily pushed Damon's shoulder. "I told you she'd be of use to us! We have guns but no idea how to use them."

My brow raised. "Why not?"

"Guns were banned some time ago. We aquired an immense amount of guns, mostly to weaken the enemy. We have no idea how they work. No humans do, that's why we use knives and swords."

Ha, this was weird to me.

Noah wasn't saying anything.

"Could you help us?" Lucas asked me.

I shrugged. "It's been three hundred years, I don't even know if the guns you have are like the ones used from my time."

Lily grabbed my arm and dragged me through an archway to the left. Then there was a door, she unlocked it quickly and when she grabbed the handle Noah's hand stopped her.

"How do you know we can trust her?" he asked.

I rolled my eyes. "You want my help?" I asked him with expectations. "Open the door." Noah stepped back by then.

The door opened and there was one huge stack of several different callibar bullets. Guns were hung on the walls like wall ornaments. It looked a lot like my father's wark space. He had so many guns I couldn't count them, but I knew how to use almost each and every one.

"Oh my God." I said astonished.

"Do you know how to use them?" Noah asked.

I looked at him, not wanting to answer. "Yes."

He grabbed my shoulders, pressing me into the doorframe. "Teach us."

My body shrugged him off. "Don't touch me. I will teach you how to use them, but it wont be easy. It's not just using them to kill, it's also knowing how to clean them. You have to know these guns inside and out."

"What do you mean?" Damon asked, eyes bright as he looked at me.

"If the barrel is so much as unclean it could backfire or not fire at all. I only know how to clean a few of these guns, though. But I can use all of them."

They were children to me now. I knew something they didn't and I planned to ride it out as long as I could, rubbing it in Noah's face until he snapped back. Not that he didn't do that already.

He was still staring down at me.

"Brother, stop being hostile." Lily said.

So . . . they were all related? Who was Lucas? A cousin? A friend? They all addressed him by his name so he coldn't be their father.

"Just . . . let me go through what you have and what you don't have. You can keep watch, I don't care." I shrugged and walked further into the room.

Noah stopped me again.

My hand gripped his and peeled it off my arm. I gave his daggers for eyes and he backed down, but he kept his height on me. He was letting me know he was in charge, whether or not I could shoot a gun.

"Noah Shepard!" said Lucas.

Maybe he was their father.

Noah peered down at Damon. "Watch her." he demanded and left with Lucas and Lily.

I walked over to the pistols and checked them, they were all unloaded, .9 milimeter. Damon was watching me as I pulled the gun open, taking it apart like a small puzzle with big pieces.

"He your brother?" I asked, making polite conversation.

Damon was silent for a moment. "Half brother. Lily is my sister, we're twins, must be hard to believe."

It was. "You look nothing alike."

Nothing.

"Lucas is your father?" I guessed out loud.

"Yes, mine and Lily's. Noah's father died when he was young. Our mother was captured about five years ago, that's when Noah took charge."

Damon was bleeding words like an open book.

I knew how that felt. My real father was never around and my mother worked too much for me to remember her face. Still, I wondered if she missed me when I disappeared in time.

"How about you? What's your full name anyway?" Damon wondered to me, his fingers trailed over the metallic handguns.

"Isabel Diane Monroe. Is your name Shepard, too? Or different because of Lucas?"

"Dawson. Noah refused to change his name when my father came around. We're only four years apart, he was smart for his age."

Oh. Well that explained a lot.

After checking a few pistols I moved on to the rifles. Everything was clean. I didn't go anywhere near the grenades, it would be a bad idea for my unsteady hands. I thought it might be best to load four of the pistols for practice and grabbed a box of .9 milimeter bullets.

My watcher kept his eyes on me, trusting me but still afraid. "You seem to know what you're doing."

"My father was a marine. Well, my step father." That was something I never said out loud. Even people in my old life thought Hank was my real father. "Noah seems very closed off, cold."

"Changing the subject?"

"I don't like to talk about things I need to forget."

Damon didn't retort on that. "Since our mother went missing he hasn't been the same. He's determined to find her, dead or alive."

That meant he could care.

"He'll warm up to you, just give him some time."

"I doubt that seriously, Damon."

Done loading one gun I put it aside and took another as Damon kept on. "You're the first person in years to disrepect him, Isabel. He hasn't even hit you yet, as far as I know. Trust me, he's halfway there."

I shrugged. "Where I'm from hitting a woman is punishable by the law. If he tries, I can defend myself. My father taught me well."

"He's not always hostile, Isabel. You should see him smile, even if it is rare."

"You care about him." I said, slamming a clip into another gun. "He's so sadistic, I didn't think people could care about him."

Damon angered a bit then. "Give him time."

That's what I intended to do. "Okay."

"He's my brother, I love him."

Damon handed me another empty gun. "He needs a woman. You're all obviously frustrated, sexually, I mean. There are other humans?"

He shrugged at me. "Surely you being here does unearth those kinds of feelings, but Noah is too serious and I'm too . . ."

"Gay?"

"What- I-" he stammered.

I nudged him. "Don't worry, I wont tell. I could tell the moment you commented on my clothes. Most men could care less what a woman is wearing." Well that much hasn't changed in three hundred years or so.

Damon's head hung low. "Don't tell Noah."

"I wont, he wouldn't understand."

Soon I was finished loading the guns. I wouldn't teach them right away, though. I needed to milk the situation out. Damon agreed to that much, not too keen on learning how to shoot a gun.

My stomach growled and I became hungry. I think I was hungry for a while, I was just too caught up in thought to acknowledge it before.

"Hungry?" Damon asked, he must have heard.

"Starving."

A shadow grew over the doorway. Noah. "I can help with that, come with me."

He was still ordering me around despite my refusal to listen to him. I got up, though, too hungry to argue with him about how he was so bossy. I just hoped he'd give me food and not torture me with hunger.

"We have MRE's mostly. I'll give you some bread, though, and some water for now. MRE's are for dinner." Noah said, opening a door to what look like a pantry.

"Thank you." I said sincerely.

Noah quickly handed me a thick piece of bread and then a bottle of water. They must have everything in bulk considering the . . . apocalypse.

I began to eat quickly and Noah watched me.

"Am I amusing you, sir?" I asked, my mouth full.

Suddenly, I could swear amusement did meet his stone cold eyes. It nearly played on his lips, but he pushed it back. To be honest, I wanted to see him smile. It would make him much better looking.

As I was done eating Noah unfolded his arms from over his chest and tossed my empty water bottle into the pantry. I stood and he watched me warily, intently. He was going to do something, I could almost see him winding up, ready to pounce.

Noah slightly pushed me with no effort. I fell back but stayed on my toes. I was inside the pantry and Noah followed, closing the door behind him and pulling the string that lit the tiny space.

A small click filled my ears as he locked the door and turned to me still serious.

"What are you doing?" I asked, my heart beating against my chest, ready to burst. What was he going to do? Beat me up?

"Why do you challenge me?" He asked.

My brow lifted. "Do you really need to ask me that in here? The kitchen wasn't good enough?"

"Answer me."

I stepped forward, my face meeting his upper chest at best. "You'd like that wouldn't you? Me obeying your every command?"

Noah lunged for me, grabbing my hands and pinned me into the shelves of the pantry. My back ached slightly at the feel of wood scraping me through mt shirt.

His teeth were clenched. "I'd appreciate it."

My jaw set in anger. "What makes you think I want to give you appreciation?"

"You have a smart mouth, little girl." he said, his face close to mine, less than inches away.

I ried to pull free but his grip was iron against my weak wrists. "Let me go." I said, ready to scream if I needed to do it. My chest rised and fell with heaviness as he grew closer to me.

Noah just looked at me, though, in that way he did. Amusement never found him in this situation.

"What are you going to do? Rape me?"

Just saying the words scared me.

As a spoke, though, Noah looked to my eyes. "It's not rape if you want me to do it, Isabel."

What? I didn't want him!

I yanked at his grip again. "Let me go!"

My heart was pounding against my ribcage as Noah's other hand touched my waist. He pressed his body against mine and kissed me. I struggled for a moment and then settled. Something about it made me calm. His lips settled on mine softly and then hardened as I kissed him back.

No! I didn't want it.

But my body did, my body wanted him.

Still, I couldn't let him win. His grip loosened on me and I pulled away. My hand smacked against his cheek, breaking the air with a _crack_.

"What the-" he said, touching his cheek in surprise. It was then that he smiled. It was crooked and – for some unspoken reason – it made me weak.

"You hit me." he said.

I let out a long and heavy breath. "Way to go captain obvious." My index and middle finger met my forehead and saluted him.

Quickly, Noah composed himself. "I'm sorry."

What? An apology?

Then, suddenly, Noah unlocked the pantry door and walked away. I stayed where I was and sunk tot he floor. This man – that I didn't know for more than five seconds – was pulling me right and left so quickly I would soon get whiplash.


	3. Chapter 3: Building

"What on Earth did you do to him?" Damon asked as I renetered the weapons room.

My brow creased. "What did _I _do to _him_?" I couldn't help but snort and laugh at him by that point. "He practically attacked me with him mouth!"

Damon stopped in his tracks, his jaw open.

"Yeah. I'm having an interesting first forty-eight hours thanks to that son of a-" I stopped myself then.

"You do realize my brother has never kissed a girl, let alone had sex with one? Like you said, we're a deprived group of people. We don't even know how to use a handgun." Damon said, waving around what I hoped was an empty gun.

I grabbed it, though, pushing his fingers away from the trigger. "Careful." It was definitely loaded, and automatic.

He gave me an apologtic look. "Sorry."

I pinched the bridge of my nose between my thumb and index finger. "It's okay, I'm just . . ."

Damon touched my shoulder. "I know, frustrated with Noah. He knows how to push buttons, but it seems you know just how to push his."

What did that mean?

We put the guns aside then, ready for next week, after we examined the white box I came in. I felt like a damn Barbie doll saying those words. I might as well have been manufactured in a large, CO2 emitting factory and sold on the shelf.

That night a requested to sleep in the boarded up room. I didn't want to be anywhere near Noah. He could wind up feeling me up or even raping me for all I knew. He was obviously unstable in that department. Never having kissed a girl or sleep with anyone? Granted, I was a virgin myself, but he was a goodlooking guy . . . as much as I hated to think it. I was awkward with my thick and short balck hair and lanky body. I was anything but attractive.

Still, sleep was uncomfortable and I woke with knots in my back. If I turned my neck to just the right angle I would feel a stabbing pain.

The pain oddly made me think of Noah kissing me, how his lips were sweet and then . . . wild.

No, I couldn't think of him romantically. It wasn't like Stockholm Syndrome, it wasn't _wrong _to have these feelings for him. The man did kiss me afterall. I just felt strange thinking about him, it made me feel like he knew what I was thinking. I couldn't let him think that, I couldn't let him win.

Three days passed as Noah and Lucas looked over the box I came in. They said nothing to me about it nor to Damon or Lily.

One morning, about four days into my stay, I went downstairs and Noah was sitting on a crate with a glass in his hand, just like that first morning. He looked up at me, his eyes brighter than usual, but he wasn't smiling.

"Hello." he said and sipped his drink.

I nodded and proceeded to walk by him and into the kitchen, but he grabbed my arm by the wrist.

"Isabel," he started but I gave him daggers for eyes and didn't say a single word. "I just want you to know I'm sorry."

For a moment I looked at him, then I decided to play dumb. "Sorry for what?" I smirked.

Noah rolled his eyes at me. "Don't make me say it."

"I assure you, Noah, I have no idea what you're talking about." I said and tried to pull away from him and go on my way.

He kept me there, though, yanking on my arm softly to make me stay. "Please, Isabel, don't play dumb with me." Noah said through clenched teeth.

"No, don't you try to make things right for something you aren't actually sorry for. You did what you want, just like you always do. I know who you are Noah Shepard, don't try to trick me."

I felt his breath on my face when he sighed. He was giving up on this, letting me win.

My wrist was free then and I rubbed it, certainly a thing I did even if I didn't need to.

I walked on and away from Noah, who I heard stomping his boots up the wooden steps of the house. He was mad, probably at me for snapping at him like I did. I couldn't help it, though. He made me so mad I could strangle him.

Lucas was in the kitchen and eating a piece of bread and drinking water. His beard had been trimmed by now and he looked a tad bit younger, but still no less than fifty.

"Hey there, Isabel." he said with a smile.

"Hey, Lucas." I said back, grabbing my own grainy breakfast from the pantry. The same pantry Noah kissed me in. It made me shiver.

We sat in silence for a moment, until Lucas finally started a new topic. "We haven't found out much from your box. Not sure how you could survive in it for so long and not even age. It's strange."

I nodded. "I know, I don't understand it, either. Maybe it should just be left alone, though."

"Don't you want to know if you could get back? It could be a time machine rather than a preserver." Lucas mentioned, but I doubted what it could do.

"No, I'd rather we leave it alone for now." I whispered as Noah walked in with Damon. Lily was yet to be awake.

Noah watched me carefully as he grabbed food and water for him and his brother. His eyes were dark again, sad. Damon knew everything and watched us like we were zoo animals.

But Lucas finished and left the room without another word. Noah followed.

Damon's mouth formed an O. "Phew!"

"What?" I said with my mouth full.

He plopped down in the chair just in front of me. "I could start fires with the heat between you two. The only problem I'm having is whether or not it's angry fire or tamed fire."

What did that mean?

"Have you talked to him?" Damon asked, his mouth now full of bread as he tried to wash it down with some water.

I opened my mouth to speak then closed it.

"Without snapping at him?"

My eyes wandered away. "Um . . ."

Damon turned smug and leaned back. "That's what I thought."

I shrugged. "What am I supposed to do? Accept his apology? I know he doesn't mean it, Damon."

"What if he does?"

That would surprise me.

I knew that wasn't true. I couldn't let it be true.

Noah was offically an off limit topic after that. I would refuse to hear his name unless it was important. Which was easy. Almost nothing happened that was interesting after that. I could finally think during the day since he kept out of my way.

But when night fell he crept into my mind. Nothing special, just him appearing is dreams I could hardly remember once I woke up. It was only his face that seared into my brain.

Because of this I had memorized his face. The black tattoos on his neck were scarred into my memory, I could see him from a mile away.

I woke early the morning I'd be teaching them to shoot. It put me on edge somewhow.

Slipping on my boots, without tying them, I sat on the dge of my mattress. I pulled my hair back with a hairtie that was left on my wirst from when I was found. It barely fit into a panytail, given the length of my hair.

I got up and walked down to a hall bathroom and splashed my face with cold water. It was going to be a very long day.

Lily knocked on the door frame. "Hey, you okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah, just a little edgy."

"I know what you mean. Finally, I'm holding a gun today. It's exciting, but I hope everything goes okay." Lily smiled. I noticed how straight her teeth were, perfect, much better than mine.

"Give me a minute, will you?"

She nodded and left the hallway. I didn't dare shut the door until I heard her feet hit the stairs. But as the door was about to close I caught a glimpse at Noah. He was walking up the stairs, a towel over his shoulder and his face drenched in sweat.

He was wearing camo pants and combat boots, but no shirt. His pants hung off his hips in that way that made you swoon. The tattoos on his neck were more evident, tribal and beautiful on his skin as they raked up and down from neck to chest.

I watched him, his head hanging low as he made his way down the hall. I noticed his skin glistening with sweat and I watched his muscles move beneath his skin, glinding effortlessly. He was beautiful, nice to look at.

Noah suddenly looked up and our eyes met for the smalest of seconds. I shut the door quickly and locked it.

My heart beat until my lungs were sore. It was bad enough I was dreaming of him, now he's prancing around the house looking so . . . well . . .

A knock sounded on the door. "Isabel?"

It was Noah.

"Yes?" I croaked.

"Are you okay?" he asked, sounding worried.

I shakily opened the door and saw Noah standing before me. He was still sweating, wiping his face with the towel. "I'm fine. Do you need something?"

He shook his head. "No. You look flush, are you sure you're okay?"

What? How embarrassing. "I'm fine." Please, just put a shirt on.

Noah then smirked. Oh, it made me weak.

No!

"Sure?" he kept smirking. It was like he heard my unspoken thoughts. How dare he tease me like that! I was just as likely to walk around without a shirt on. I bet he'd love that!

"I'm sure. Be ready in an hour." I demanded.

"Oh." he crossed his arms. "You're calling the shots now? I was unaware."

Did he like this? I never saw him smile so much.

Noah coughed slightly, clearing his throat.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" he knew he was teasing me. He knew what effect his . . . finely sculted body would have on me.

"I have no idea what you mean." Noah smirked.

"Yes you do!"

Noah was trying to make me want him . . . and it was working. I couldn't let it work! I couldn't be weak! But I was an open book around him, he knew what I was thinking, he could practically read my mind.

"Stay out of my head, Shepard." I snapped and slammed the bathroom door shut. I half-hoped his gun would be strong enough to make him hit himself in the head when it went off.


	4. Chapter 4: The Lesson

"Okay, first rule," I stated outloud, making sure they all heard me. "always hold the gun as if it's loaded. Never point it any something or someone you don't want to shoot."

Lily pulled the gun up to Noah's head and laughed. Noah jerked away then. "Hey!"

I snapped my fingers. "It's not funny. You could kill him." Not that I would mind at this point. "Keep the gun pointed down right now."

The guns were longer right now, with silencers to keep Sky People from checking in on this house. We were inside the house in the basement to make sure no one would hear anything. It was simply a precaution.

I set up some empty cans, just like my dad did when he taught me. Then I picked up the extra gun I loaded and pointed it toward a can of what looked like a home for beans. Yummy.

"Holding the gun with both hands keeps it more steady. Try. Keep your fingers off the triiggers, just hold it up as if to shoot." I ordered and most did as I said, trying to mock my movement.

I looked over Lucas, he was perfect. Then Lily and Damon were both standing so straight they could pass a pillars outside the house.

"Damon, Lily, feet shoulder's width apart. Bend them slightly . . . There." I guided them.

It was then that I looked to Noah. He was just standing there, his gun pointing at the floor. I looked at him like he was crazy man, a child. He needed to take this seriously.

"Noah! Do as Isabel says." Lily ordered playfully.

My arms folded over my chest. "Get into stance."

Noah groaned and pulled the gun up, both hands on the hilt. Both eyes kept open, he let out a small breath. He sparted his feet until they were shoulder's length apart and bent his knee ever so slightly.

"You don't use both eyes to shoot." I said.

Noah looked at me confused.

My chin lifted slightly in question. "What hand do you write with?"

"Left." he said as if I should know.

"Close your left eye and aim with the sight of your right eye." I ordered him. It felt nice to be the boss and actually have him listen to me.

Once he was aligned I spoke to all of them. "Once you have your aim you can get ready to shoot. Don't yank on the trigger. Press slightly."

Suddenly, three cans went down. Lily, Damon, and Lucas all laughed. They felt accomplished and high-fived each other. But Noah stood and stared at his target . . . the one he missed.

"Noah, you had everything right, why didn't you hit the parget?" I wondered after congradulating Lily.

He shrugged at me. "I don't know."

I knew that was a load of crap.

"Everyone try again. We'll go until the clip is empty and we'll be done." I commanded after setting the cans back up.

They all picked up so easily it was astounding to me. Noah missed every single shot, hitting the wall behind the can rather than hitting the can itself. I felt he was doing it on purpose, trying to get me alone once the rest were done. It was impossible for Noah to do poorly and for them to get it right each and every time.

Lily grew excited, just like I did when I learned. Damon was almost equally ecited, but he tried to contain it in front of Noah and his father.

Lucas sayed calm about it, as if he knew he'd be able to shoot the gun . . . but he wanted to me sure he could do it right. It made sense. You didn't want ot be in the middle of a war and not be able to hit the target.

Lily, Damon, and Lucas all left the room and Noah tried to shoot the can again. He missed. Of course!

"Need help?" If I couldn't get out of helping him . . . then that's exactly what I'd do. "I mean, I can help you, I don't mind."

Noah shrugged.

I set up the cans again and walked over to him and ducked under his arms. I was curled up, my back to his chest. His breath hitched in his throat as my hands wraped over his. I lined up the target with my sights and pulled the trigger softly.

The can flew back and I smiled and let go. "Now you try."

I stayed where I was and he lined it up to a new can as he should have. When he pulled the trigger the can flew back like the first, with a _ting!_

For some unspoken reason I could feel Noah smile. Something relaxed his muscles, tension. "Not so hard, huh?" I said.

"I know what you're doing." he said coldly.

Moving from his encirclement, I said, "Whatever do you mean?" I teased. "Oh! You mean how you waltzed upstairs without a shirt on and drenched in sweat, dangling yourself in front of me like a piece of beef jerkey? Whatever. Could. You. Mean?"

The words flew from my mouth, I was unable to stop them. Noah looked at me with amusement first and then with staged anger. He was keeping up his image now, not letting me see him weak.

"Dangling myself in front of you was the highlight of my day. Of my life." Noah said, but he was meaning that he loved to see me tortured.

For some reason – I don't know why – but I grabbed the hem of my own shirt and pulled it over my head. I, too, was covered in sweat from being in the basement. My bra was embrrassing, though I didn't think he'd care it was plain white and nothing else.

"How's it feel, Noah?" I said, now dangling myself in front of him the way he did to me.

He said nothing.

"I bet you're aching to touch my skin."

I could swear his fingers twitched.

"Dont you, for even a second, think that I want you. Don't get me wrong, you're very attractive, but that's just the outside. Inside you're nothing but a coward, afraid of his own feelings. You take it out on me, someone you barely know. And you take it out on your family. Anger is, by far, the most unattractive, insecure, and low emotion of them all." My face was close to his chest as I looked up at him.

He hadn't flinched or even blinked since I started talking. He was frozen, and I hated it.

I pulled my shirt back and and looked at him again. "Don't you ever respond?"

I was suddenly pinned to the wall then. This wasn't in an act of passion, Noah wasn't going to touch me that way. He was mad, _really_ mad.

"Do you take pride in putting me down?"

My jaw set. "I do."

Noah loosened his grip on my shoulders. "Why?"

I pushed at him a little. "Because ever since I got here you've been giving me mixed signals. You're as confused as I am about that kiss-"

It was then that I was silenced. His mouth was on mine again. But I couldn't let this kiss happen. Even as he cupped my face lovingly in his hands I knew I had to push him away. He let me do it and when I did I saw his green eyes glowing. The darkness had disappeared for the smallest of moments, but entered again when I pushed him away.

"Don't!" I yelled, stabbing my index at him.

He looked at me with confusion in himself.

"You're trying to fix it all with affection but it doesn't work that way. I'm not your spouse or lover! I'm a girl you found in the woods who's lost and scared out of her mind for her life. At least let me feel safe before you try to sleep with me!"

I pushed past him then and ran up the stairs, through the house, and up to my makeshift room. I couldn't deal with him acting this way. It wasn't right for me to feel this confused.

I hugged myself close on my bed and cried. It was all I could do. I let myself think about all the people I loved who I would never see again. My chest tightened and I ached, even as I thought about Noah touching me the way he did. Cold Noah, a man I knew so well without knowing him at all.

Begging and begging for an answer I asked God: What's wrong with me?


	5. Chapter 5: Pets

My throat was dry, like sandpaper when I breathed. I got up from the low mattress and opened the door. My heart leaped into my throat at the sight of Noah laying in the corner next to my room. He was sleeping peacefully, his head hanging to one side as he slouched in his little cubby.

Quickly, I ran to the bathroom to splash my face with water. I couldn't think about Noah.

When I was done looking over myself I walked out. Noah was standing up then. His eyes found mine and I couldn't even hide.

Looking at me, I knew what he was seeing.

"Isabel," he nodded.

That's it? You camp outside my room and all I get is "Isabel" ? I would retort, then. "Noah." I said, ice cold.

Noah didn't change his expression.

Why was this man so confusing?

We parted ways and I locked myself back in my room to have some alone time. I needed to think about all of this, this new life of mine.

Would I stay with these people? Probably. I had made a friend out of Damon and almost out of Lily. Lucas was sweet to me, like I was family. Noah was . . . warming up, and not in a good way. He was bipolar, really. Either warming or cooling. Never in between temperatures.

Nevermind Noah.

I kicked him, subconsciously, out of my head. He would no longer enter.

But there was the matter of what I was doing here. What did they do? Did they just live and do nothing else? Fight when they needed to? Hunt when they were hungry for more than an MRE?

I stood and left my room to look for Lucas.

He was in his room, sitting on the edge of his bed. He had cut his beard, trimmed it, and his graying blonde hair shimmered in a stream of light from the window. He looked up at me and smiled, it didn't meet his eyes. I hated it when people looked at me that way . . . like I was some foreign creature.

"Need something?" he asked sadly.

"You've mentioned before that I needed to be registered as a human being to the Sky People." I stated.

Lucas held out his hands in question. "Yeah?"

"I need to do that now." It was the only way to find out about my family, to dig up the records.

Lucas straightened up. "Today? Isabel, you can't just waltz up in there and announce you were found in a big white box and need to be a registered citizen."

Why not? "Well, we wont say that."

"Then say what?"

"That I was a prisoner from birth, or something, and never was registered." It was the best I could come up with, and they'd probably buy it given the fucked-up-ness of this world.

He thought for a while, touching his chin with his thumb and index.

Someone appeared behind me. "It could work." It was Damon, taking my side. He probably knew what I was trying to get at with this.

"Thank you, Damon."

"But you're more likely to find out more if you turn yourself in and say you were in a white box. They'd want to study you. You could get in, give us information once they let you go." Oh, so Damon was devious then?

I smiled at that. It was actually a better idea, I would get twice the information for the price of one.

Lucas let a hand run through his hair. "But would they let her go?"

That would be the only problem. "That's hardly the thing we need to worry about. I could get out, I can fight my way out if I have to."

Damon sat on the bed with his father. "Also, you need to sell this to Noah. He wont like it."

Right!

"I think it's a great idea."

Great, now Lily was involved.

Lucas stood up then and put his hands on my shoulders. "I don't like it . . ." He was looking me dead in the eye, trying to find a reason why I shouldn't be doing this.

But all I did was smile. "I can do it and get out."

He kept his eyes on mine and then gave up. "Ok." Now all we had to do was convince Noah . . . yay.

Downstairs we sat Noah down and stood before him, like we were trying to pitch a book or TV show. We were all nervouse about what he would think, me more than anyone. The man hated me for God's sake.

"So, we have an idea to get more information on the Sky People." I started.

"No." Noah said automatically.

My jaw dropped. "You don't even know-"

He stood above me then. "You think I couldn't hear you down the hall? The answer is no."

Noah tried to turn and walk away but I stopped him. "Since when do you give a shit what happens to me? Please let me know because this is news to me."

He kept his back to me. "No."

"You need information on them and I need information on me. It's the best idea." I said matter-of-factly.

"You know what? It's a great idea." Noah turned to me and smirked, this was a dark smile, so I prepared for the worst. "So, when are we doing this?"

There is was. "We?"

He nodded. "Yes, I'm, going with you."

Someone behind me gasped and then laughed.

"No you're not!" I stomped my foot.

"It's that or nothing at all."

My jaw set and my teeth grinded together. He was going to really do this to me, make me go with him. I couldn't believe it! "Fine!" I yelled in his face and made my way up the stairs, stomping my feet on each step.

Behind me he laughed. "Real mature, Isabel!"

Lily was pushing me to put on a skin tight outfit, something similar to spy-wear. "Come on! Isabel, this is the future, trust me when I say this material is bulletproof all around."

I rolled my eyes at her and went to the bathroom to change. When I put on the outfit it clung to my skin, but it wasn't warm. I felt like Kate Beckensale in Underworld. I actually looked like her, only I was a bit more lanky, less built.

When I came out of the room Lily gasped. "Lord, the Sky People are going to lose their minds when they see you in this! You might even be able to just waltz right in like you own the place."

I highly doubted her on that. "Yeah, right!"

A knock on the door filled my ears and it creaked as it opened. Noah was standing in the doorway in a similar tight black outfit. I could see every muscle on his body and it tugged at my heart.

His eyes locked on mine and he tried and struggled to keep them there. I noticed two guns in his holsters and he handed me the ones in his hands. "These are for you. To get arrested with need to start a comotion, kill someone, something like that."

Kill?

"Yes, kill." he answered my unspoken question.

I looked back to Lily. "Do we have to dress this way?" I tried to pull at the fabric but I couldn't grab it.

"Yes, it's how the Sky People dress. This will give them the illusion that you impersonated them and tried to kill them off. They'll bring you in after so much as a shot from that gun." Lily explained to me as I stared at Noah. I almost didn't hear her speaking.

I nodded. "Fine." I crossed my arms over my body, not liking how I felt exposed when I was anything but naked in the tightness.

"You okay, Monroe?" Noah asked with a smirk, but he gave me no time to answer as he walked away.

"You've gotten him to smile." Lily said as I tucked the guns away.

I shrugged. "So?"

She sighed at me. "He hasn't really smiled since our mother disappeared, now he smiles almost every time you're around. It's nice to see him happy."

That was him being happy? What the hell?

"I'm a strange woman in this house, Lily, don't mistake his happiness with lust." I admitted. I was a girl and Noah had never kissed anyone besides me.

"He's met other women before, Isabel. Never once was he fond of them."

"That's him being fond of me? I must have missed the memo when threatening to kill a women meant he liked you." I said sarcastically and Lily gave me an exasperated look.

She held her hands up defensively. "You're the same person, basically. Always sarcastic and demanding, it's amazing you haven't killed each other yet."

Yes. It was.

We said our goodbyes after that and Noah lead me out of the house and through Sky territory. We moved quietly through brush, moving grass and leaves, trying to not leave a trail.

I kept my hand on the hilt of a gun just in case someone decided to surprise me.

"Why did you want to come?" I asked, whispering.

Noah looked at me quickly and blinked. "Someone had to show you the way, also you'd be killed if you didn't have me."

I rolled my eyes. "Says the man who didn't know how to shoot a gun before I taught him how."

"Exactly, says the man."

My mouth scoffed without permission. "You're incredibly and without a doubt the most sexist man I have ever met."

"What are you talking about? I love women."

I followed his footing, stepping on uncovered asphault and rocks as we pushed through the green. "I happen to know I'm the first girl you've ever kissed. Spill, Shepard."

Noah stopped then and looked around, he kept where he was. "Look, you have to understand that we don't just sleep with the first thing we see with boobs and a pretty face. Not around here, not in this time."

All men were like that, no matter what time.

"I repect women, or I _did _until you showed up."

What? "What does that mean?"

His head cocked to the side slightly in question. "It means I was in control of my actions around other girls and other women. You prance right in and I'm left in a state of confusion and impulsiveness."

"But-"

He put his hand up. "Like you said, I am just as confused about those kisses as you are. I don't know what they mean or why I feel this way. It just happened."

"It's lust, Noah. I'm fresh meat in this world."

Suddenly Noah lifted his index to me and stabbed it at my face like I was a five year old. "Don't say that. You're not. End of story."

I couldn't help it then. I smirked. "Is that our thing?"

"What?" he was confused again.

"You bossing me around and vice versa."

He blinked, stunned by my words. "I don't know." Noah looked around and ducked down. "We're here. Get your gun out. Shoot anywhere at anything. Keep the shades on, too."

We both took our guns out, I was a bit more scared right now than him. Even if I knew guns better . . . he suited the look of holding them, holding someone at gunpoint.

Noah stood and walked out, popping off five shots a gun as he did. He was shooting anywhere and I could swear I saw a man go down. So, I did the same and hoped I wouldn't kill anyone. I fired off and hit concrete in several places. One of my bullets hit someone on a tower, but I saw the blood spatter from only his arm. He would be okay, hopefully.

"Stop!" yelled a woman I couldn't see.

Noah was smiling next to me and he dropped the guns in his hands, keeping his hands up and then putting them behind his head. I copied, obviously the thing to do. But I couldn't bare to smile. This was terrifying, I was almost sure I was about to have a panic attack how fast my heart was beating in my chest.

"It's alright, Is. Breathe slowly." Noah said and four men ran up, followed by a woman who I guessed was the one who spoke before.

For a moment I contemplated the new name Noah just gave me. Is. Too short, I didn't like it. But I did as he said as a man yanked my arms down and cuffed me. The same happened to Noah and I was scared for us.

"Ow." I said, the metal pinching me.

Then I felt a sting at the back of my knee and I fell to the ground. The same happened to Noah. We were kicked down and then something cold and metallic touched the back of my head.

My heart sped up. We were going to die.

I looked to Noah and he was looking at me. "Noah." I mouthed, it was a plea.

"It's okay." he mouthed back. "Breathe."

This would be the only time I'd take orders from him, but that was because he was being sweet and soft about the orders.

A woman walked up, blonde hair, almost white. Her eyes were black, just like they said. It was evil looking. It was then I realized I wished the man on the tower had been shot dead. These people weren't people, they were dark, holding us at gunpoint and ready to fire.

This woman was wearing the same kind of clothes as us, only her's were red and flashy and ugly to look at. Her heels were taller than the Empire State.

She yanked our glasses off. "They're human." She grabbed my chin and looked at me closely.

Beside me, Noah struggled. "Don't touch her."

The black haired man with the gun to his head pressed it harder, ready to shoot. "What do you think, Nia? Should I kill him?

"No!" I yelled and felt metal press into me.

The woman, Nia, looked to me. "Oh! Lovers?"

I gave her a solid block of ice for eyes. "No."

She bent and looked at me in the eye. "Lies. Let's test the theory." Nia turned to Noah and pinched his chin. She kissed him, her red lips pressing to his.

My heart thumped out of rhythm, even if I knew Noah didn't like it. "Stop."

She did and Noah's mouth was left with a red stain. He coughed and spit near her shoes. "We shoot the place up and you want to taunt us with jealousy? What is your sick problem?"

"Simply that I love to push buttons." Nia said with a voice that sang rather than spoke. "Bring them in. I am going to have fun with these two."

What? Were we her new toys?

The both of us were pulled up to our feet and pushed along behind Nia. One guard would hold us while the other kept a gun to us. And just to be safe, every gun from above was on us as well, and maybe more.

Oddly enough, their life was not above ground. The pillars protected a spot in the ground that lead beneath the Earth. The space we entered was confined, like an elevator. So we went down smoothly, I wasn't even aware he were moving until the doors opened and we were in the middle of a gray hall. It went on for what looked like forever and then turned into another hall.

There were many doors with different names on them in languages I didn't understand. I wouldn't bother to even try to read the symbols.

We stopped dead in the hall and then we three – Nia, Noah, and I – were all tossed into a room with color. Red. Red everywhere. The only other color was black and that was just the bed and a table with red chairs. There was no other piece of furniture besides that.

"Have a seat." Nia said and walked over to the wall. She touched it and then it opened from nothing. She grabbed two bottles of water and sat them at the table. "Please, sit."

We did as she said then, but we sat next to each other. Nia sat across from us. "So you're this kind of couple? You keep close."

What?

I didn't realize what she said until I felt Noah's fingers slipping through mine but keeping our hands beneath the table. His thumb stroked mine in a calming motion, circling around my knuckled.

"What do you want from us?" Noah asked through gritted teeth.

Nia smiled theatrically, white teeth shining in the light. "Honestly? I want a good show, my pet."

A show?

"Why don't you speak, dear?" Nia asked me.

My body froze, but my mouth didn't. "To you?"

Her mouth formed an O. "Speak to me if you please, or to your lover. It makes no never mind to me."

I looked to Noah but I said nothing.

"We're not lovers, Miss." Noah said to Nia, his eyes keeping away from her's.

"Oh, why ever not?" Nia's hands clasped together.

She knew. She did. I saw it in her face. Nia was toying with us, making us admit to things even without saying them. The fact that he was holding my hand proved that much already.

It was then that Nia stood and circled us, looking at us. "You're warm next to her. You hold her hand. I am sure you have kissed this woman." She touched his shoulder. "Oh! You dream of her!" Nia laughed deviantly.

He dreamt of me?

"Enough!" Noah slammed a fist on the table.

"I can see everything about everyone. I can see into your minds, your hopes and dreams, even desires." Nia looked to me, her hands slamming on the table. "You desire him . . . Isabel?"

All I could do was nod.

Her lips quirked up. "Ah, yes. You don't regret desire for this man, though. You crave him."

Why was she doing this? Tears welled up in my eyes then and I couldn't stop it no matter how hard I tried to. I was hopeless. Noah was watching me and he squeezed my hand.

Nia jumped up, almost dancelike. "And you! Oh, you're full of surprises, aren't you?" She looked bac at me. "Do you want to know what he thinks about you, Isabel? I think you want to hear this."

No. I didn't.

"Stop." Noah said, almost begging. "Please."

But Nia was already leaning next to me, her lips at my ear. "You want to know? No, you don't."

Finally, my chest loosened and I breathed.

"You think I should tell her, Noah?" Nia said. I almost imagined her smacking gum and leaning on his shoulder like a flapper.

He knew what she was talking about. "What's the point in saying no? You're going to torture us both with it, anyway."

She pouted then. "Oh, you know me well." I felt her circle us again. She stopped in front of us, my hand gripped Noah's for dear life. "I think I can wait to tell you, though. Until you want to know, that is. Until it drives you mad not knowing how he feels."

This was it.

Nia was toying with our minds. Our hearts.

"Stay here, think about all of this. A guard or ten will be outside the room. Remember that there is no way out unless you put your feelings in your mouth." Nia spoke like a poet and skipped out of the room like a tiny child. I hated her.

It was then that I stood up automatically and pulled away from Noah. My hands ran through my hair vigorously and my chest pulled inward. I wasl sure I was going to throw up.

"Is, sit down, breathe!" Noah stood and made me sit back down, but I stood again.

"No! We're stuck in here because of this!"

He gave me darkened eyes. "You need to stay calm this is what they want. They want you to suffer, that's why she toyed with us like that."

Yes. Her games. "IS what she said true? Do you have some unspoke and known feelings for me?"

No answer.

"Before this you said you didn't know what you felt about anything between us. Then this happens?" My voice was frantic.

"I don't know what it is I feel! She does! She can dig into my head and figure it out even if I have no idea what it is."

I stopped then and looked at Noah. His face was red with anger and he body was tense. Nia got into my head and that sent Noah off the edge. She got into his head, too. She figured out what made us tick and what sent us running for the hills. It was dark, evil.

"We need to keep calm, okay?"

"Okay."

Noah ran a hand through his hair and looked around the room. "You take the bed, I'll sleep on the floor." He said and started to take a pillow.

My tongue clicked. "She wants a show, Noah. Just sleep in the bed with me."

"No."

"Come on."

He gave me a look. "Isabel, no."

"Shepard!"

Noah's hands were on my shoulders, practically shaking me. "Not like this!"

What? "I don't need more orders from you, Noah. You're not the boss here. Sleep in the bed. Not because Nia wants us to, but because you want to."

With that he threw the pillow on the floor and laid down. I groaned and sat on the edge of the bed. Then I thought for a moment. If he wouldn't sleep in the bed then I would just have to sleep on the floor.

I got up and plopped down on the floor with Noah, a separate pillow under my head. Noah instantly rolled his eyes at me and turned over with a low growl. He wasn't going to get away with this. If Nia wanted a show . . . she would get a show. It wasn't something I wasn't used to, she knew that.

My eyes closed and I was out almost instantly. Given we knew it wasn't that late, it surprised me. I slept long and hard nothing could wake me up . . .

Except Noah . . .


End file.
